Brave Mia, safe in the arms of her granny

With her arm in a sling and scratches visible on her forehead, little Mia Hogan bravely manages a smile as she clings to her grandmother.

The two-year-old was back in Britain with her mother Natasha yesterday, unaware of the enormity of the tragic events which caused her injuries and made headlines around the world.

She looked calm and pensive as she cuddled her favourite toy and sucked her thumb.

Her father John, 32, remains in hospital in Crete after leaping from a hotel balcony with his daughter and six-year-old son Liam in his arms after his wife apparently threatened to leave him.

Liam died from head injuries suffered in the fall and yesterday his coffin was being flown back to England ahead of his funeral.

Mrs Hogan, 34, and her daughter, from Bradley Stoke, Bristol, were being comforted by relatives - including her mother - yesterday as details emerged of three tragic deaths in Hogan's family history that may have prompted his actions.

Overdose

His older brother Paul, 35, killed himself 18 months ago by leaping 220ft from a bridge, and his younger brother Stephen died of a paracetamol overdose aged 17 in 1996. A coroner recorded a verdict of accidental death.

Stephen's death came four months after their 56-year-old father John died of multiple sclerosis. Neighbours said the loss of his brothers and father haunted Hogan and could have contributed to the tragedy last Tuesday.

One said: 'It was a family dogged by tragedy. He must have been affected by what happened, losing his father and two brothers in such a terrible way. To have tragedy strike all three sons is terrible. It's devastating.'

Hogan took a cocktail of anti-depressants and alcohol before leaping from the fourth floor of the four star Petra Mare Hotel in Lerapetra after a row with his wife.

When she said she was considering leaving him and taking the children with her he shouted: 'I'll take them with me before you do.'

Hogan is under police guard in hospital in the island's capital Heraklion after suffering a broken arm, leg and chest injuries in the fall.

He faces a murder charge but will not be interviewed by detectives until he is well enough, possibly tomorrow.

He has told doctors that he is consumed by guilt and wants to die. Yesterday, it emerged that Hogan, a tilemaker, has been sobbing relentlessly and begging for forgiveness, crying: 'I'm so sorry, I've ruined so many lives.'